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LAPD Officers Fired for Catching a Snorlax Instead of a Burglar Denied Appeal (theverge.com) 103

Posted by msmash from the not-the-onion dept.
Two LAPD officers who were fired from their jobs in 2017 for playing Pokemon Go while on duty have had their appeal for reinstatement denied by a California judge. From a report: The officers' squad car video camera showed the two officers, Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell, ignored a request for backup to play the game, according to court documents. The pair were stationed near a robbery in progress, and after the responding officers put out a call for backup, Lozano and Mitchell seemingly ignored the call and left the area. When asked later why they hadn't responded to the call, the two officers said they were in a loud area and couldn't hear their radio. Lozano and Mitchell's supervisor was skeptical of their explanation and checked the in-car recording system (commonly known as a dashcam), which revealed the two had heard the call and chose to go elsewhere as they didn't want to help. The supervisor reported the incident, which opened a formal investigation. According to court filings, an extensive review of the in-car video system revealed that shortly after leaving the scene of the robbery, the two officers could be heard discussing Pokemon Go, including a Snorlax that had appeared and the best route to intercept and catch it.
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LAPD Officers Fired for Catching a Snorlax Instead of a Burglar Denied Appeal More

LAPD Officers Fired for Catching a Snorlax Instead of a Burglar Denied Appeal

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  • well ... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @10:04AM (#62163673) Journal
    ... just honing their chase and apprehension skills, perhaps? :)

  • It's a start (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TWX ( 665546 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @10:06AM (#62163679)

    Now if only police that routinely and flagrantly violate the rights of the people they encounter would also be fired, and if "qualified immunity" were reduced in-scope to a very small subset of actions endorsed by the departments and in-line with published department policies and laws...

    • Inconsistency (Score:5, Insightful)

      by JBMcB ( 73720 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @11:17AM (#62163915)

      It's the inconsistency and arbitrary nature of police disciplinary procedure that riles people up. Playing Pokemon on the job? Fired. Shoots an unarmed person laying face-down on the ground? That's fine. Looking up a license plate number for a friend? Fired. Driving 60MPH with no lights on through a residential area for no reason, blowing a stop sign, T-boning another vehicle, arresting that vehicle's driver then lying about the whole thing in an official report? One week suspension.

      Being on a list that prosecutors keep because you've lied too many times under oath to the point they won't call you as a witness anymore? That's also just fine. I mean, why, as a police officer, should you be expected to be honest enough to be able to testify truthfully in a criminal trial?

      • I think you hit the nail on the head, Consistency in what the police can and cannot do and when, with a rather recognized set of punishment for the officers who break the rules.

        While I expect a lot of those Dunning-Kruger Lawyers out there who think having such well stated rules, will allow for crooks to find loopholes to work around the law. In reality a good set of rules and regulations for police, will probably do a lot of good, as the criminals for the most part will be consistent on how their crimes a

        • Re:Inconsistency (Score:4, Insightful)

          by SvnLyrBrto ( 62138 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @04:27PM (#62165039)

          > While I expect a lot of those Dunning-Kruger
          > Lawyers out there who think having such well stated
          > rules, will allow for crooks to find loopholes to work
          > around the law.

          To hell with that (and them). It *should* be difficult to convict. Police *should* be required to build an airtight case before arresting, detaining, or accosting someone in any way. Prosecutors *should* be held to a similar standard. And there should damn well be consequences... harsh and crushing consequences... for when they decide to go all "close enough for government work" and drag the innocent into the justice system in any capacity besides as a witness or juror. If the cost of stronger protections for the innocent and the accused is that the occasional guilty person is acquitted, that's fine. No... that's GOOD. The cops and prosecutors should not be allowed to play things fast-and-loose and set people up to take the fall for crimes they didn't commit. They should be utterly destroyed if they even try.

          Recall Benjamin Franklin and Blackstone's equation: "It is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer". Personally, I would punch that up to 1000 and also throw in a comic-book cliche that is nevertheless just and should be considered axiomatic... what Uncle Ben told to Peter Parker: "With great power comes great responsibility." If a cop or DA decides not to use their power responsibly, they should lose it. Forever.

          And if a few crooks occasionally figuring how to work around the letters of the law is the case for keeping the police and prosecutors honest and slapping down any shenanigans; we should all be happy to pay it.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by hawk ( 1151 )

            >Recall Benjamin Franklin and Blackstone's equation:
            > "It is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than
            > that one innocent Person should suffer".

            No, that's *not* where that comes from.

            While it is an explication of some of the ancient Common Law principles (in fact, from legal influences far older than that), that general form of the statement that we recognizes is not from Franklin or Blackstone.

            It's from John Adams.

            More particularly from his closing arguments defining the British soldiers from t

            • Okay... I didn't recall at that moment that it actually predated Blackstone too. Voltaire's writings only came before Blackstone's by about 40 years though. But seriously? Not Franklin? Those were Frankiln's EXACT WORDS from a letter to Benjamin Vaughan which you can read on the national archive's website or on Yale's franklinpapers.org project.

              https://www.bartleby.com/73/95... [bartleby.com]
              https://founders.archives.gov/... [archives.gov]
              https://franklinpapers.org/yal... [franklinpapers.org]

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by hawk ( 1151 )

                Blackstone was published in pieces from 1965 to 1970.

                The Boston Massacre trial, where Adams put forth the statement in his closing arguments, was 1770.

                The quote you offer is Franklin offering it as a longstanding principle fifteen years later, in 1785.

                The notion is ancient, likely going back to tribal law on the British isle (it's *certainly* not consistent with Roman jurisprudence!).

                The formulation of many/one seems to see its first appearance with Adams, but, again, its simply a restatement of principle.

                V

      • Goofying off on the job gets you fired because both sides of the political debate see that as bad, so the department has to fire them to save face. But when you're talking about shootings, even a suspect that's face down, there's serious debate about whether a police office's actions are justified. And yes, usually if the suspect in question is of a specific persuasion, or more likely said suspect is never put in that situation if they're not of that persuasion. But regardless, there's debate, which provide
      • The problem is playing Pokemon on the job broadcasts police GPS location to third parties, useful for say, planning a robbery. Looking up a plate for a friend can pin down when certain people are away from places, useful for crimes. The biggest threat is police who ARE criminals, not police who fight criminals in sloppy way.

        • I had my car broken into a couple of years ago (visiting the Computer Museum in Mountain View!). Police were friendly, but said that because of their crazy 3 strikes laws their jails are full. So their solution is to never prosecute anyone over non-violent crimes. So they do not bother to chase them much either, might as well just play Pokemon.

          This is widely known. So never leave anything visible in a car. The windows will be smashed. Happens about twice a week at the Computer Museum apparently. Com

    • Every time I have the debate with someone who wants to fully repeal any 2A protections, eg ban guns and make sure people aren't allowed to own them, I always ask "so we should take all guns away from police too then?". To which the answer is emphatically "No! Cops need/should have guns.... blah blah blah". They always magically believe police are some special people who are highly trained and not just like the rest of us. If I counter that maybe it's reasonable to allow anyone to own a gun if they go thr

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Now if only police that routinely and flagrantly violate the rights of the people they encounter would also be fired, and if "qualified immunity" were reduced in-scope to a very small subset of actions endorsed by the departments and in-line with published department policies and laws...

      Qualified immunity is a tough one because the Supreme Court is the one that said it exists in general. States are able to reduce the scope of QI though, but it only covers the state police - federally they have QI as granted

  • Charges (Score:3)

    by IdanceNmyCar ( 7335658 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @10:09AM (#62163695)

    Fuck reinstatement. These pigs should be prosecuted... They basically aided the crime and further showed a supreme level of negilence in the line of duty.

    Throw the book at them...

    And further, I open the floor to how people could be so infatuated with such a game? Like you basically have a clicker that uses GPS and that's enough engagement to stop police from doing their duty? Are we going to have to make some phone game of cops and robbers that gets them to do their duty by giving them funny virtual stats? "I got 3 gtas 4 muggings, but I am still struggling to bust a hostage situation"

    • But they're not actually obligated to help anyone, are they? So what should they be prosecuted for?

      • But they're not actually obligated to help anyone, are they?

        So they receive their salary for being extremely good looking, or?...

        A civilian in (most of?) the US is not required to "help", which is already bad enough and unworthy of a civilized society. But for cops, catching bad guys is right there in the job description. Actually it is the job description for the most part. So could we please skip the amoral-acting "they didn't do it right, but technically didn't do anything wrong, either" BS and call them for what they are, please: derelict bastards?

        And no, I don'

        • You'd think so, but turns out, no, police are not actually mandated to help people.

          https://mises.org/power-market... [mises.org]

          • While true, they are obligated to follow the chain of command, and perform duties as commanded, by the rules of their various departments. And that's the reason they're fired. Not because they endangered the public, but because they didn't do as they were told.

          • Fascinating. The confusion here stems from the difference between failing to do their job and committing a crime. The court says that they are not violating the constitution--a federal crime--by not protecting people who are not in custody. That is not to say that they are immune from being fired for failing to protect someone. They thus did not commit a crime by ignoring the request for help, but they did fail to perform their paid duties. Thus, they have no basis upon which to demand reinstatement. Nevert

        • I think it was sarcasm but it can be hard to tell. It's easy to get apathetic as much as this shit seems to happen without repercussion. Then again, we don't get the good news so I suspect there is some selection bias...

          The system is just broke. More needs to be done to weed out bad apples while promoting those with a heart for service but that requires an actual pool of applicants to fill open positions and most decent people now have no interest in the job... So beyond fucked.

          I honestly think vigilante ju

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tragedy ( 27079 )

            This sort of thing has been tried in the past, and it's always a dystopian nightmare where people end up living in fear of the "cowboys" who have basically been given carte blanche to murder whoever they want if they can find a way to justify it.

            • I know. but maybe the issue was bounties we're always high value targets... lower the threshold and you can put out bounties for the rogue bounty hunters. It's the circle of life and seems fitting for a country with more guns than people...

              Didn't "Dogg" the bounty hunter fuck up like this somehow by detaining the wrong person?

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by tragedy ( 27079 )

                The problem is the whole system. Maybe you've heard of Native Americans scalping people? The thing is, it was mostly Native Americans who were scalped. Sometimes they just did it in revenge. The people scalping them were bounty hunting (not for anyone specific or with any due process) and the scalps were turned in for the bounty. This, of course, led to lots of Chinese people and others whose hair could pass for Native American being murdered for their scalps. One possibly apocryphal story I keep going back

                • I never said it was a sane idea... rather, I could just see it happening to some degree. The propose a system like this in the later seasons of the new Westworld series but slightly different.

                  I didn't know all this about the Native American system of bounties but I do remember the period of looting and arson with firefighting.

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by tragedy ( 27079 )

                    I never said it was a sane idea... rather, I could just see it happening to some degree.

                    I very sincerely hope that it does not happen. Concepts like that are great for dystopian fantasy, but are ultimately part of the reason those worlds are dystopian.

          • Nice fantasy, but in essence that is anarchy. In anarchy, always the guy with the bigger army wins. That is the guy with the bigger pockets.

            You most certainly don't have the bigger pockets.

            If you want to see this in action, live and in color, book a trip to Burma, Congo or the like - something tells me you'll realize that the phantasy of it is a lot better than actually having it fulfilled.

            • I live in China now just to avoid most threats of random violence or gun violence. It certainly has drawbacks but life is full of tradeoffs.

              I never really said this system was ideal, just that I could see it happening in America.

        • Well, I get my salary by looking good as the best looking nerdy aging neckbeard on staff...

        • But neither of denied salary, or put on leave, or even outright being terminated is the same as prosecution.
      • They're not required to intervene when observing a situation, but they have a duty to their employer to follow lawful directives given. That may not be a criminal act, but it would 100% justify firing them.

    • Plus how dumb do you have to be to forget you're being recorded? But then again they seem to record themselves planting evidence https://www.npr.org/sections/t... [npr.org]

      • That's what I don't get... like the level of stupidity in shit like this is too damn high.

        I remember reading how many police departments won't high anyone with a high IQ but fuck this is really dumb...

        It's also one of those things that makes me respect that in China appeals can lead to harsher punishments. Like you honestly fucking appealed this? Dude, you got caught doing something incredible stupid... but then have the gall to waste more tax payer money on the appeal... there should be punishment for this

        • That's what I don't get... like the level of stupidity in shit like this is too damn high.
          I remember reading how many police departments won't high anyone with a high IQ but fuck this is really dumb...

          Most people are, if we are being honest, really fucking stupid. They know fuck about shit.

          Moreover, policing is no longer seen as a prestige job by most people because there is so much widespread information about police abuse causing public perception of police to more accurately match their activities than in the past. So police departments, like the military, NSA, CIA, etc., have been having to scrape deeper and deeper into the barrel to find employees.

          All it takes to become a cop in the USA is a couple

          • I would love a more thorough history of policing but I feel it hasn't changed that much? These are the three major requirements:

            1) Will chasing people in cars be thrilling?
            2) Are you not afraid of guns?
            3) Will you listen to orders without question?

            And this doesn't even get into Instutionalized racism which clearly was a big deal for awhile and likely still affects many regions.

            The history of other emergency services seems far more nuanced but police always seemed to be one of these clubs for a certain type

          • I know some law enforcement and it runs a range. The guy down the street always felt a bit like borderline bully growing up, then I hear he retired from LAPD and my first thought was "of course it had to be LAPD for him", then I feel briefly bad for stereotyping but get over it. But I know a couple other retired LAPD cops and they're great people. And they're in general better people than prison guards by far. The police chief in my home town I would trust implicitly because I grew up with him and know

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by PPH ( 736903 )

              But the FBI has a very high bar for being hired as an agent.

              Yeah, maybe individually.

              But they still suffer from the effects of "institutional intelligence". Or more accurately, the other side of this which is being dragged down to the lowest common denominator of their own organization plus the local law enforcement upon whom they depend. Loyalty to 'the brotherhood' runs pretty high (as it does in the military) and it only takes a couple of fuck-ups (or corrupt cops) to taint an entire investigation or department. The lone wolf cop may be romanticized by the media

        • if you're appealing the point of the process is that the justice system might have made a mistake. In otherwords, even then you're presumed innocent.

          China's system assumes guilt. Given China's record for civil rights you should ask if we really want a system like that.

          On your last point, respect for our institutions isn't demanded (as it is in China), it's earned. Yes, we haven't been living up to it, but again, do you really want to use China's method of gaining institutional respect (e.g. demandin

        • I don't think the departments are finding dumb people to hire. But more to the fact if you are a smart person, being a police officer is not as appealing as other jobs may be.

          If you want power, become a politician, or a CEO.
          If you want money, become a lawyer.
          If you want to help people, become a doctor.
          If you want excitement, become an athlete.
          If you want mystery, become a private investigator.

          Being a police officer, is a good decent job to get, however if you are a high achieving person., they are other op

  • Did they shoot the snorlax ?

  • Can one commit both crimes at the same time? I thought a burglary is when you remove things from someone else's house without anybody noticing. Robbery, to me, implies at gun point.

    • You're right that "robbery" means theft with violence, threat of violence, or otherwise placing a person in a state of fear.

      But many (most) jurisdictions classify domestic burglary (that is, breaking and entering into occupied domestic premises with the intent of stealing) as a crime against the person (akin to a violent crime) - because a person has a right to feel safe in their home, and the housebreaker has violated that. That's a fair reflection of how burglary victims (and thus society) feels in th

  • Weird... (Score:3)

    by ktakki ( 64573 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @10:26AM (#62163765) Homepage Journal

    Usually cops play GTA on the job.

    k.

  • Just doing their jobs... Sort of. (Score:3)

    by pla ( 258480 ) on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @10:33AM (#62163777) Journal
    Gotta catch 'em all!

    Well, maybe not all, every trainer knows you can't catch humans. Why bother trying?

  • I'm the only one without a clue what a Snorlax is? Some kind of laxative? Something that helps against snoring? Something that combines both functions?

  • I'm not quite understanding of the legal system involved. That's not a surprise, I'm only in my 40's.

    So, you don't perform adequately on your job, and your boss fires you.
    Then you spend five years of the court's time to fight for your job?

    Is the legal system simply there to waste tax dollars?

    • Is the legal system simply there to waste tax dollars?

      No, but police unions are there purely to prevent justice from being done.

      • There are arguments that state and federal entities should not be allowed to have unions because there is no counter-party.... IE nobody to represent the taxpayer.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by anegg ( 1390659 )
      If a long enough legal action by fired officers usually results in their job being restored, probably with back pay (or possibly they can be on "administrative leave" receiving pay while fighting), then they are encouraged to play the odds even when terminated for a really good reason.

  • The article failed to mention the most crucial part of this story... How disappointing!

    So...

    Did they catch the Snorlax?!?

  • LAPD Officer used Glock 21
    It's Super Effective!

  • did they get the Snorlax?

  • I'm getting old (Score:3)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Tuesday January 11, 2022 @01:08PM (#62164243)

    I immediately thought 'catching snorlax' was an euphemism for sleeping on the job, I must be really ancient.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Surely a Snorlax is more valuable than a Burglar Denied Appeal.

  • Probably time better spent sense we are talking LA here. I doubt it would ever be prosecuted it is a catch and release system.

  • While not responding to a call is pretty bad, plenty of cops were playing it when it came out.

    Right when it was most popular my partner and I lived on the upper west side of Manhattan, and she was obsessed with it. Someone posted a hack that found all the Pokemons in your area and put them on a map using Google maps. It wasn't really a cheat because you still had to get there before everyone else. A lot of times when we went to get one in our neighborhood, someone else had gotten it, and there wasn't anyone

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